Looking around now, he thought it must still be pretty early. He was alone in Buffy's bed, but he could hear movements downstairs. Buffy, Dawn, or both had to be home.
Then a terrible thought struck Spike. What if Dawn had skipped out of school again and she was alone downstairs? What if she came after Spike again? He couldn't take another day of punishment like the previous one. Besides, if Dawn stayed home, he would lose his last chance to dig around, and he still hadn't even managed to finish reading Buffy's diary.
He crept to the open doorway and listened intently, prepared to jump out the window if it turned out Dawn was indeed present. Then, to his intense relief, Spike heard the telephone ring downstairs and Buffy's voice answer it. He was safe as long as she remained.
The phone conversation was brief. Buffy was finished with it almost before Spike had time to realize she had sounded angry and had apparently received disturbing news. As it turned out, he wasn't left in suspense long as to the nature of the problem.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled in a no-nonsense tone.
Spike listened to the dragging footsteps of Dawn going to face Buffy, who immediately confronted her sister. "I just got a call from your school. You forgot that even though I don't know much Italian, the secretary there speaks really good English. She wanted to know if you were feeling better after being out sick yesterday, and if you'd be showing up today." There was a pause, during which Dawn said nothing. Buffy went on, "I walked you to school yesterday. I watched while you went in the door. And the minute I left, you must have turned around and walked right back out and come back here. I'm very disappointed in you, Dawn."
"You skipped high school all the time!" Dawn protested.
"Yeah, but usually because I was busy saving the world. Not because I was being a brat. There's a difference, and I thought you knew that by now. I was going to let you off easy for reading my diary and messing up the living room and everything else, but not now. We'll talk about your punishment when I get home from work today."
Again, silence from Dawn. Spike could picture the mulish expression on her face, though. He just hoped she wouldn't rebel by attempting to sneak home today, too.
The same thought must have occurred to Buffy. Spike barely had time to return to his former position on the bed before she jogged up the stairs and into the room. To his surprise, she picked him up and returned to the living room, where Dawn waited.
Holding the puppet in a possessive grip, Buffy eyed her sister. "Obviously I can't trust you around my stuff so I won't leave it where you can find it. The puppet is coming to work with me today. Don't bother to snoop around the house for him when you get home from school. He'll be safe, with me."
They proceeded to Dawn's school in frosty silence. When they arrived, Dawn stalked inside without a backward glance.
"Fine, be that way," Buffy muttered. She readjusted her grip on Spike and her bag, and resumed walking.
After another five minutes, she stopped in front of a large building, opened the door, and went inside. Spike looked around curiously. They were inside a gymnasium. He saw several large rooms with mats spread across the floors, as well as what looked like a dance studio. Buffy headed toward the center room, greeting a few people who responded in Italian-accented English.
"Buffy, you're late," called a tall, thin woman.
"Sorry, Giulia," Buffy called back. "Had a little trouble with my sister. I'll hurry up."
She quickened her pace and entered the room, where about a dozen men and women dressed in gym clothes were waiting. "Hey, everyone, just give me a minute." Not wasting any time, Buffy crossed the room, placed Spike atop an empty chair in the corner, and tucked her bag underneath. "Good enough," she decided before turning and going over to join the group. "Okay, so last time I demonstrated a couple new moves and asked you to practice them for today. First we're going to review...."
Buffy had become a self-defense teacher, Spike realized. As a job, it was a natural fit for her. She skillfully led several classes of varying ability levels, showing them exactly which maneuvers they needed to use and making sure every member could perform each one. Spike was so absorbed in watching her that when a break came for lunch, he was surprised so much time had passed.
He longingly looked on as Buffy left the room to have a meal. He was feeling pretty hungry himself, not having eaten in more than 24 hours. Even a sip of milk or just one cookie would be welcome. Not that he had a chance to even try to grab something to snack on. Too many people were around.
After what seemed like forever, Buffy returned from her break and set about working with a new group of students. This one was followed by another, and another. Finally, though, came a time when one class left and no one else entered afterwards. Buffy's workday was over.
Spike thought about what he had observed that day. He hadn't spent it as he had planned, but it hadn't been wasted. One thing was clear: Buffy was doing fine without him in her life. He knew he should be glad, but he couldn't help feeling a little hurt as well. Not that his bruised feelings mattered at this point. He could slink back to Los Angeles now. He had seen all he needed to.
Soon Buffy came over to collect him and her bag. All the way back to her house, Spike concentrated on figuring out the best way to sneak out of her life. It would be dusk in half an hour, so it wasn't like he had much time to make his move. And if he was late, Angel might come looking for him. That would definitely lead to a scene Spike wanted to avoid.
He was still considering and rejecting ideas for escape when Buffy turned onto her street. Spike looked up, studying the house he'd never gotten a good look at before. It was a small, white, two-story building with a small yard surrounded by tall hedges. It looked, for lack of a better word, nice.
Buffy cut across the lawn toward the front door, and then it happened. A large, dark shape came seemingly from out of nowhere and bulled into her, knocking her over. Buffy's bag and Spike both went flying, landing on the other side of the yard. Stunned, Spike shook his head and looked up. Two ugly gray demons with curved horns were snarling at Buffy. She had regained her feet and looked to be more than a match for the creatures, though, as she pummeled one and kicked the other in rapid succession.
Spike hesitated. This was his chance to escape and meet whoever was assigned to pick him up. He was sure Buffy could handle the demons; she had confronted much worse countless times. He would never have another opportunity this good. But before he could make himself sneak away, a complication occurred.
The front door flew open and Dawn bolted outside. "Buffy! Look out!"
She was warning Buffy of a third demon that had joined the fray. This one, however, shied away from Buffy and set its sights on Dawn, who was easier prey. With a roar, it leaped on her. Buffy, her back turned, didn't see that the demon was on the verge of tearing out her sister's heart.
Spike did, though. Without a second thought, he jumped up, pumped his stubby legs as fast as he could, and sailed toward the third demon. With a great leap, he propelled himself onto its back, grabbed its neck, and twisted. The dead body collapsed under him and Spike fell to the side, rolling over in time to see Buffy use a tree branch to finish off the second of her opponents.
He had no time to enjoy the sight. An ear-piercing scream sounded beside him, and Spike whipped his head around to see Dawn pointing a trembling finger right at him. "Buffy, your puppet's alive!"
TBC